Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 959 — page 2: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

2 The Mascot Middy; THE FOUR COMMANDERS. BY T. J. FLANAGAN, AUTHOR OF “‘CRUISE OF THE OCEAN QUEEN,” ‘*MIPSHIPMAN DARE,” ‘*THE TWO MID- SHIPMEN,” ‘‘ THE THREE LI#u- TENANTS,” ETC., ETO, CHAPTER I, THE COMMODORE’S CHILDREN, IN the early part of November, 1803, havin renewed the treaty of 1786, between the Uni States and Morocco, Commodore Preble sum- moned the commanders of his small vessels, to deliberate as to their future operations, The consultation was held in the cabin of the U.S. frigate Constitution, at Gibraltar, and when his lieutenants-commandant had with- drawn, the commodore seemed thoughtful and melancholy. Colonel. Lear, who had formed one of the council, having been for a long time employed in Africa, and being invested with certain wers to treat, at the proper moment, with ripoli, observed the commodore’s dejection, and inquired if he were unwell. ‘*T have been indiscreet in accepting this com- mand,” answered Preble, ‘‘ Had I known how I was to be supported, I certainly should have declined it. The Government has sent me here a parcel of children, as commanders of all my light craft,” ‘he children referred to were Stewart, Deca- tur, Smith and Somers—all very young men, it is true, but when reminded of this speech later, the commodore had learned their worth, ‘‘ T remember it well, colonel,” he said, smil- ing, ‘‘ but the children turned out to be good children.” On the 12th of Novenmer, 1503, the commo- dore gave a formal notification of the blockade of Tripoli, off which town he supposed one of his old commanders—Bainbridge—then to be, having the Philadelphia, Vixen, etc., with him. On the 13th of the same month he sailed for Algiers, where he Bh a consul on shore, and then proceeded to Malta, there to be met by the intelligence that the Philadelphia had been cap- tured, and Captain Bainbridge, with all his offi- cers — crew, had been made prisoners at Tripoli. his was very disheartening—a fine 38-gun ship, andan old and experienced commander, and, moreover, his only captain, lost at the very commencement of his operations! It was a most serious reverse, and a feather—a very big feather, in the cap of the rapacious enemy, Commodore Preble, however, was not a man to waste time in useless regrets, and sailed at once for Syracuse, which port he reached about the end of the month; and then the children be- gan to come to the front. The commodore’s object in going to Sicily was to establish a rendezvous, and to open negotia- tions with the authorities of that island, for cer- tain aids that he felt would be necessary. A few days later, the commodore, in the Con- stitution, sailed for Tripoli, accompanied by the Enterprise, commanded by Decatur. The latter carried ten long six-pounders, was very fast and a most successful vessel, The evening of the sixth day out from Sicily, Lieutenant Spence at the mast-head of the En- terprise, sighted a suspicious sail bearing to- ward Tripoli, and descending to the deck in- formed his friend and commander. It was nearly night, the Constitution was some distance astern of the Enterprise, and with a glanee at the position of the flag-ship, Deca- tur, after ascertaining the exact location of the stranger, said: ‘t George, find Laurie—he’s somewhere below, We must give the commodore the slip to-night, and put after that fellow. We'll show the com- modore some children’s tricks!” Spence nodded approvingly, and sought Lau- rie, to whom he repeated Decatur’s words, ‘* Better keep ber off a point or two,” suggest- ed Laurie, on joining his commander; ‘‘ we must keep between him (the commodore) and the stranger until dark. Then clap on all sail, so we'll have the fun all to ourselves,” “Good! I knew old sobersides would hatch out an idea!” laughed Decatur, turning to Spence, and then addressing the latter: ‘*We must keep this quiet—among ourselves. + a - . - *h) ms Py es o4 - 3 S*:, The Four Comm yeh a ‘ ~ th sely Ae ii ee ee » ; ‘ . rt, rene S a6 ee Lat gos * Paha penal , It won’t do to set the men a bad example; so you, George, had better keep your glass on the stranger until dark, and signal Laurie how to steer.” ** And you, Steve, had better remain below, not feeling well, until about midnight; then, if the Enterprise should get separated from the meg eae you will not know it until day- aurie (as James Lawrence was called by his two friends) uttered this very gravely, and sa- luting his commander left the cabin. ** He is right,” said Spence, ‘‘ and I’ go aloft at once,” In a short time darkness came, and then Lau- rie ordered every sail set and trimmed to get all the benefit possible out of the freshening breeze. Studding-sail booms were run out on both sides, and suils sent aloft soaking wet, while men were stationed in the tops and cross-trees, to drench the canvas with the water in buckets, which their comrades whipped up to them, This last was not only of service in increasing the speed of the Enterprise, but it rendered her canvas as dark asa collier’s, and consequently less liable to detection by either the Constitution or the stranger. At one bell in the middle watch (8:30 P. M.,), Laurie went below to report: ‘Everything lovely, Steve! The commodore must have got separated from us ;—he’s not in sight—at least, I can’t see him. Weare logging nine knots, and it’ll soon be blowing half a gale, I hope so, anyhow.” ‘**] hope she will prove to be one of those in- fernal pirates,” remarked Decatur, a little anx- icusly, and then with a smile, and sly look at Laurie: “If not, Mr. Lawrence, you'll have some pretty tall explanations to make to the com- modore, for running away in this fashion, I, of course, being ill, can do nothing to— In fact, I know nothing about it.” In the presence of others, Decatur, Lawrence and Spence, never forgot professional etiquette, but alone in the cabin they were still the mid- ee "0 of the grand old frigate United States, and the ‘‘inseparables” of the same lucky ves- sel, which one of them now commanded :— ‘* Steve,” ‘‘ Laurie” and ‘‘Gentleman George.” The reader will not, therefore, be surp that Laurie’s reply was not couched in the most polite language. ‘*Oh, you and the commodore can go to thun- der,” he exclaimed, laughingly. ‘’ But, look here, Steve—we’re walking right up on her, and by oe we can board her, if you say the word. “By Jupiter, that would be splendid! We could meet the commodore at daylight with a prize. How he will stare—eh, Laurie?” ‘** Rather—especially as it will come from the children,” The idea of failure never occurred to these young men, and their unvarying success cer- tainly justified such confidence, About midnight, Laurie’s prediction as to the position of the stranger was verified—she was within a quarter-mile of the Enterprise, under easy Sail, and apparently unsuspicious of dan- ger. ** Those fellows must be asleep!” exclaimed Decatur, who had come on deck a few minutes before, ** Asleep or not, she’s what we’ve been hoping for,” replied Laurie, adding: PF ata ane I run her alongside or have her heave to ** Alongside,” Decatur at once decided. As he spoke, the moon, which had remained hidden up to this time, burst forth, and revealed the pursued as a vessel somewhat smaller, and of lighter draught than the Enterprise—a ketch. With the appearance of the moon, considerable commotion was seen aboard the ketch, and an attempt was made to spread more canvas, It was too late, however, and in a few minutes the Enterprise ranged alongside, Decatur demand- ing the name and nationality of the craft, Instead of replying, the stranger backed her topsail and hauled down her flag—which it was now seen for the first time, was that of the Bashaw of Tripoli. This tame submission was so suspicious that Laurie counseled sending a boat, instead of run- ning alongside and boarding, ‘* Very well; take the quarter-boat, and at the first sign of treachery warn me, and we'll close with her,” “It looks very queer,” returned Laurie; ‘* there’s scarcely a dozen men on her deck, yet she’s armed and heavily manned, I'll wager, so let us be on our guard.” He was right; the ketch was heavily manned, ene : ‘ z ; * qs s 4 ary : S 3 4 4 # . 4 7 a An Sy. a g " oo fay ihe =F ae? yea .+ 4 ° aif _ _ rt 2 Ales. | , ‘ - ger: nh pl ‘ _* , & Pe r ." : Ae ahed ~ Baked ; 4 Ee but it was by drunken men and slaves, and on boarding her, Laurie found that it was one of the latter, a youth of fifteen, who had hauled down the flag, This youth informed Laurie that the ketch had that day fallenin with a derelict, laden with wine, and before night all the officers, and most of the crew, were drunk; that the vessel was carrying one hundred female slaves as a present from the Bashaw to the Sublime Porte at Con- stantinople, and that every man now on deck was @ slave—the commotion noticed by those on board the Enterprise being caused by the drivy- ing below of half of the crew. Laurie immediately hailed his commander, and when the latter made fast to the ketch, in- formed him of what he had learned. ‘‘Very well,” returned Decatur, in a tone which signified that he was by no means pleased at his easy success; ‘‘secure the prisoners, and get under way as soon as possible.” The sleepy, stupid, drunken officers and men of the ketch were easily and quickly secured, and then both vessels were headed to cut off the Constitution, which was accomplished at day- — next morning, and they hove to to await er. CHAPTER II. THE TWO ORPHANS. THE Constitution was about ten miles distant when sighted, and over an hour elapsed before she came abreast of the Enterprise with her prize, Commodore Preble was notified, as soon as it was seen that the Enterprise had another vessel in company, and, in common with all on board the flagship, was much exercised over the mat- ter—especially as the ketch was plainly not of American build and rig. As soon as the vessels were within hail, the Constitution came to, and Decatur was ordered aboard, ** What vessel is that?’ demanded the commo- dore, as soon as Decatur made his appearance, ‘‘ A ketch with male and female slaves—the the latter as a ote, from the Bashaw of Tripoli to the Sublime Porte, sir.” ‘And where the deuce did you get her?” Decatur would have made a very poor diplo- mat. Lying, or prevarication, in any form, was as foreign to his nature as night is to day, and he replied: ‘*We discovered her yesterday near sunset, and captured her about midnight. Mr. Spence sighted her, and Mr. Lawrence boarded her,” ‘ And you—what did you do?” ‘‘ T remained below most of the time,” ‘¢ How many men did you lose?” ** None, sir; not a gun was used.” ‘‘ Hum—well, it would be better, and as You know, proper, to notify me before attempting— But, we'll pass over that! Breakfast will be ready in a half-hour, Mr, Decatur; you will join me then, and invite your two lieutenants to ac- company you, ‘*Humph! Three boys! A fine light vessel —good for barbor, too—just what I require,” muttered the commodore as Decatur’s boat pushed off, . He was not at all pleased that the children should have taken the ketch out of his very hand, as it were, but was too just not to give them credit, and too vexed, fortunately, to in- quire further into the affair. i The commodore had a double odject in going to Tripoli on that occasion. By showing bis force before the town, he encouraged the ca tives, and gave his enemies reason to respect, if not fear, him. But the principal motive was to reconnoiter the place, in order to direct his future move- ments with a greater degree of intelligence, and in this, the previous experience of the three officers of the Enterprise proved of great value. Captain Bainbridge—with whom an active correspondence was kept up—also suggested many different modes of annoying the enemy. December, however, is the worst month in the year off that inhospitable coast, and in a few days it began to blow 80 heavily from the northeast that on Christmas day the Con- stitution and Enterprise, with the prize, re- turned to Syracuse, Before doing so, however, Decatur, Laurie and Spence had a long talk, the result of which was that the first-pamed ed the Constitu- tion, ‘* Comniodore Preble, it’s a shame toallow the Philadelphia to remain where she is,” said the fiery commander of the Enterprise, on being shown into the cabin of his equally fiery superior. co micbooks.com